The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, the nonprofit professional development and charitable arm of Hollywood’s largest union of actors, is opening the doors on Monday to its brand new Los Angeles headquarters, the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists.
The Center is located in the sprawling, stunning penthouse space of the building at 5757 Wilshire Blvd., a few floors above where the foundation used to be based, which was aquired after another business vacated the space during the pandemic. This cutting-edge facility will be dedicated to supporting a wide array of programs that will help SAG-AFTRA artists learn from experts, refine their skills and advance their careers. In-person gatherings that were on pause during the foundation’s move — such as Conversations, which features career-retrospective interviews with prominent actors — will resume in the new space, which will also house the foundation’s assistance programs and offices.
The foundation’s board decided to name the facility after Streep, the legendary actress who has been the most philanthropic donor in the foundation’s nearly 40-year history. “Meryl Streep’s quiet and consistent support for the foundation and her fellow actors for decades has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Courtney B. Vance, the president and chairman of the board of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, said in a statement. “In recent years when serious crises struck our community, Meryl stepped up immediately to help lift up performers who needed it most. Naming our new Center in her honor is our way of expressing gratitude for her unwavering commitment and generosity, as well as embodying the excellence she exemplifies in our industry.”
Added Vance, “The Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists will encourage and nurture the talents of countless performers, serving as a beacon of inspiration to us all. We are immensely proud to unveil this vibrant new home where SAG-AFTRA artists can connect, collaborate, and grow together. We eagerly anticipate the remarkable work, creativity and careers that will come from it.”
Cyd Wilson, the executive director of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, also weigh in: “The opening of the Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists marks a major milestone for the Foundation. This Center will provide unmatched resources and opportunities, all at no cost to SAG-AFTRA artists. As the only industry nonprofit dedicated to providing free services and resources exclusively to these performers, we look forward to resuming our in-person programming in Los Angeles in this innovative new space, and for the first time, all under one roof. In addition, the foundation operates and maintains its programs in Los Angeles, New York and online through charitable gifts, grants and sponsorships.”
The foundation also decided to name various spaces within the Center after other actors and actresses who have been similarly supportive. For example, there’s the 100-seat, state-of-the-art Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson Screening Room, in which the foundation’s Conversations programs and The Business panels will be held; the Nicole Kidman Green Room, which will be a refuge for special guests; and the Leonardo DiCaprio On-Camera Studio, in which actors can record professional self-tapes and develop their on-screen presence with high quality camera, lighting and sound equipment.
The foundation has also relocated to the Center, and upgraded, the Don LaFontaine Voiceover Lab, which provides voice actors with the opportunity to record voiceovers, enhance their techniques and work on projects such as animation, video games, commercials and audiobooks.
And the Center also includes classroom space for programs on topics like acting techniques, audition preparation, casting and career management that will be led by industry professionals.
The Center is available for third-party rentals for industry screenings and premieres, FYC events, table reads, corporate events and more. Interested parties may contact rentals@sagaftra.foundation.
The foundation encourages all SAG-AFTRA members to take advantage of everything the Center has to offer. To do so, members must first create a profile at www.sagaftra.foundation.
